Fallout 3

[Demon Cleaner]

Have still to watch a video of that game, it's been released now and got very good reviews at Metacritic (http://metacritics.com/games/platforms/xbox360/fallout3), currently over 90/100.

[Harrison]

The game is definitely getting some good reviews. PCGamer game it a very good review in this month's magazine. They did comment that the minority fanboys of the series past will probably still hate it as it isn't their beloved isometric games of the past, but as a game in its own right they have said it is really good.

Also worth noting from the reviews I've read is that they all say there is a lot to do in the game and you can spend a lot of time exploring and doing side quests without even touching on the main missions. Players can play the game as an out and out FPS with just the core missions to complete but for everyone else who enjoys attention spans longer than goldfish, the game offers much more.

I for one will be playing it when I get the time.

[Teho]

Eurogamer gave it 10 out of 10 (http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=269648). However it was reviewed by the same guy who gave Oblivion 10 out of 10, so...

Cue Ghost's rant in three... two... ;)

[Demon Cleaner]

I ordered it yesterday (and also Dead Space and a dualshock controller).

[Harrison]

Dead Space also looks very good. A mix of Event Horizon and RE4, mixed with many others. I also like the 3rd person to the side viewpoint idea, where you get to see things happening to your character before you can react. :nogood:

[Teho]

Dead Space is definitely good. I received Fallout 3 in the mail today, but as I'm about 3-4 hours from the end of Dead Space, I probably won't be giving Fallout 3 a go before tomorrow.

Dead Space has a great atmosphere, at least for the first half of the game. Remember the scenes towards the end of Aliens, when Ripley is going through the hallways searching for Newt? That's the kind of tense, claustrophobic atmosphere this game has. But you get used to it after a while, and it doesn't work as well through the entire game. It's still good, there's quite a few moments that will make you jump and also plenty of areas you will feel uneasy going through. And the gunfights are great as well. I'm also loving the holographic interface it uses for menus. There's no HUD in the game, instead there are gauges on the suit of the main character where you can read health, air supply and so on. And when you open menus, they show up as holograms relative to the character, not you. It hovers in front of him, and you can turn the camera around and view it from the side or from behind if you want to. Its information is also on several layers, so it has a kind of 3d effect. Looks really cool, you'll love it when you see it.

Anyway, I can certainly recommend the game. If you can find time with all these great games coming out all at once, you should have a look at it in my opinion. :)

[J T]

Dead Space, Fallout 3 and Far Cry 2 are all really tempting to me at the moment. When they are around a bit cheaper I'm gonna grab at least one of these. Dead Space looks the most interesting to me.

[Harrison]

There are just so many great games being released at the moment it is mad. What to play first!

I've just started playing Far Cry 2 and so far I can highly recommend it. It has a very similar feel to the jungle parts of the original as far as I've played and it looks great too.

I've not had chance to play Fallout 3 or Dead Space yet. Those will be next though, along with a few others. I still have Mass Effect to finish, then there is the new X3: Terran Conflict expansion to play as well, along with loads of others. Also Spore to keep playing... then Space Seige... the list could go on!

[Ghost]

Cue Ghost's rant in three... two...

Ahum Teho.

As for Fallout 3 scoring so high, sure, because most journalists are in Bethesda's pockets and got the instruction well that if they want to have preview and review material from Bethesda in the future they should damn well like it.

For unbiased opinions, check NMA.

Despite what you think, it is not all hate and bile, some people enjoy some elements but they all agree; this is not Fallout.

[Sharingan]

Jesus Christ. Jut got Motorstorm: Pacific Rift and Valkyria Chronicles today. Tempted to buy Dead Space, Fallout 3 and Far Cry 2. LittleBigPlanet out NEXT WEEK. I'm in desperate need of more free time.

[Teho]

Despite what you think, it is not all hate and bile, some people enjoy some elements but they all agree; this is not Fallout.

I agree. This is Oblivion with a Fallout-mod. I can safely say that after having put quite a few hours into it over the last couple of days. I am still enjoying it immensely, but it's true. The setting is Fallout, but the game mechanics is more Oblivion. They have incorporated elements of Fallout's mechanics but overall it works a lot like Oblivion.

This is what I expected personally, so I'm not really disappointed. It's still a great game, better than Oblivion as far as I'm concerned, and definitely worth playing. :)

[Ghost]

Okay, as long as we both understand that this is nothing like the previous Fallouts and the vision of the makers of those games...
Well I guess there is no problem then.

Not that I can change anything about it anyway, to me there is no hope that I will ever see a game like Fallout 1 or 2 ever again. :(

[Harrison]

As I've commented before. Fallout 1 and 2, while great games, are now very dated (design and control wise). It is hard to imagine games being made in the same style again. Unless it is a homebrew game.

I also agree that Fallout 3 feels very much like Oblivion, but using the same game engine I was also expecting this so it wasn't a surprise to me at all either. Obviously the combat mechanics are quite different, but the character interaction is very similar, as it most other aspects. It is still a very good game in its own right and I'm enjoying it.

[J T]

My desire to play this falls as I hear how much of a time-sink this game is. Unfortunately I don't really have tons of time to devote to gaming at the moment, so I'll probably pass on this for a little while and go for something that offers a short but intense thrill. Shame though, as a post-apocalyptic environment is always an appealing setting for stories/games for me.

[Submeg]

Hmm, I miss the good ol fallout. Maybe get it out and play it? Playing duke nukem atm!

[Harrison]

With Fallout 3 you don't have to spend lots of time exploring the whole game and completing everything. You can plow you way through the main story quite quickly if you wished. So it really can be as short or as long as you wish. Obviously, choosing the all guns blazing shoot 'em up style of play will mean you miss out on a lot of the game's content. But you would get to play through and see the main story. You could then come back later when you have more time and play the game differently.

[Demon Cleaner]

I didn't get it yet, but Play.com sent it out last Thursday :(

[Harrison]

I got Fallout 3 a couple of days before release! ;) :lol:

[Demon Cleaner]

I got Fallout 3 a couple of days before release! ;) :lol:Of course, but the PC version.

[Ghost]

Harrison, no more "Turn Based and Isometric are old and were the best they could do at the time shit" please, I have that enough on NMA from 15 year olds who think that Halo is the best game ever.

Van Buren showed that the system could go along with the times and recreated the Fallout universe in 3D, the First Person was implemented because Bethesda doesn't know anything else, plus they want to attract people who just want to shoot or slash things, not have meaningful conversations or difficult decision making quests.

(no, Megaton does not fit the last. To blow up or not to blow up, seriously, this is a moral decision?)

[Harrison]

Ghost, you completely missed the point of my argument. I'm not talking in terms of the game mechanics and styles that I like. I actually prefer SRPGs like Front Mission 3, Vandal Hearts, FFT, Disgaea... etc compared to real time combat systems. However I was talking about the marketability of such games in today's marketplace, and you have to be realistic and agree that SRPG's and TBS style games do not sell well compared to first person real time combat games. Publishers and Developers need to make a profit, and so this is how it has to be, especially with a franchise this large and this expected. And for one that was being cross platform developed.

But quite frankly, at the end of the day Fallout 3 is just a game, and a very good game at that. Just play the game. I bet you might even enyoy it!

[Sharingan]

http://forum.classicamiga.com/picture.php?albumid=11&pictureid=65


Chill out, folks. It's just a game.

[Ghost]

I probably may depress the Joker with my Fallout anger to the point that he will shoot me just so that he doesn't shoot himself to end it all.

Bethesda should simply have ignored Fallout, it did not needed to be rescued by them, it wasn't that big.

[Harrison]

When any film or game series gains a cult following it becomes big news to potential future profit from remakes or sequels. Anything with a cult following is guaranteed to generate income.

[Puni/Void]

My feelings towards Fallout 3 are not positive. The reason is that I've been into Fallout for many years and it hurts me to see what Bethesda has done.

Fallout 3 looks like Oblivion-with-guns were the main ingredients are stuff like "bloody mess" and the "fat man".

I don't agree that isometric view is outdated and wouldn't sell. Why does everything has to be in FPS? Check out the screenshots and videos for Diablo 3 by Blizzard to see an alternative that works well! ;)

[Harrison]

Have you actually played Fallout 3 yet PG?

[slicer1000]

I have to agree with PG I it is just Oblivion-with-guns. Having played all the fallout games. This is missing a lot of the dark humor the early games had.

Bethesda has no experience making SRPGs that the reason this is an FPS. The marketing has played a important part in this game sales. Had the first fallout had this kind of marketing then it would have sold 3 times as much.

Black isle where working on a third game when they got shut down. I think going more like Neverwinter Nights would have been the way.

As Harrison said it's a very good game. It's just not fallout

[Demon Cleaner]

The fact that they changed from strategy game to FPS will not implicitly mean this isn't a Fallout game. The setting, the story and everything around still shows that it's Fallout. The fact that they changed it to FPS has imo nothing to do with that.

And, as Harrison already mentioned, the change from SRPG to FPS is just something they did to sell more copies as I think the demand for FPS is much higher. I also would have preferred an isometric SRPG like its predecessors, but that will not mean that I won't try this one out.

I never got into FPS because I didn't like the gameplay, but as I finished Resistance and Call of Duty 4, I slowly began to like FPS and was stunned by the great graphics and atmosphere of these games. So I ordered Fallout 3 and will definitely play it.

I would also like to see a new Jagged Alliance or a worthy sequel of the X-Com series, as that kind of games were my all time favorites, but nothing of that kind got released anymore. They tried a few UFO (X-Com) sequels but they all were crap. They also wanted to release a new Jagged Alliance some time ago, but they wanted to switch to 3D, which already made me :dry:

[Harrison]

I've been playing a bit of Fallout 3 and it is a good game in its own right. Anyone who has played Oblivion will instantly recognise some key aspects such as the way characters interact and conversations are conducted.

I think the one thing that does feel a bit flat to me so far is the character interaction. There are a lot of people to meet and talk to. Thinks to ask, information to be gained (using special abilities to try and get cheaper information or more information). However the characters feel a little flat to me. Their personalities are not that unique or individual (that I've encountered so far).

Apart from that I'm liking the game. The wasteland is very nicely created with loads to explore and interact with. Lots of areas that are not even key to anything... just like finding a cave in Oblivion, in FF3 you come across buildings and find them occupied by raiders so you investigate and end up in a shoot out before discovering something inside.

The combat system is also quite nice. Very easy to implement. Just give V to activate the VATS system, select the target and body parts, queuing up actions until you run out of Action points, hit E and watch it unfold. It's not perfect but ti does work well because you get to initially work out your targets and a bit of tactics, but when the points run out you are returned to real time first person combat and the panic sets in as everything speeds up again. It does create a good combat atmosphere.

This is definitely an RPG more than a FPS. You get a lot of missions and quests to do. Loads of items to collect and weapons to find. You can also make weapons once you buy schematics and have the parts, and your weapons degrade and wear out, with out needing to repair them by borrowing parts from another identical weapon.

I'm liking the game. And I think everyone should put aside the fact it is called Fallout and just give it a true. If you've ever enjoyed Oblivion or many of the recent FPS games you will like it.

[slicer1000]

And, as Harrison already mentioned, the change from SRPG to FPS is just something they did to sell more copies as I think the demand for FPS is much higher. I also would have preferred an isometric SRPG like its predecessors, but that will not mean that I won't try this one out.

I never said changing it to a FPS would effect gameplay. Now I work in the industry the sad truth is the change from SRPG to FPS was made due to time and cost. Bethesda would have had to build a new game engine which would have cost millions to make or license one from another developer which is also very expensive. After they paid 20 million for the fallout license. It something they could not afford to do. So they use what they know the havok engine to make a FPS RPG.

It's a sad reflection on the times we live in but cost is the main factor in games development now.

[Harrison]

There is never anyway that it is possible to make a decision about a game unless you first play it. I personally think the finished game is far better than I was expecting. In previews they were just showing of the VATS combat system and nothing else. There is so much more to this game than that.

[Demon Cleaner]

Just found a map of Capital Wasteland in Fallout 3.

http://planetfallout.gamespy.com/maps/1/Capital-Wasteland

[Harrison]

That is a great map. Thanks for the link. :) One of the best interactive maps I've seen created for a game I think. I wish they had made a map like this for Guild Wars when I used to play it.

There does however seem to be many things still missing from the map as there are locations and other things I've found in the game that are not marked on there yet. So it is obviously being added to as more is found. There are no towns marked for example.

BTW, I'm still really enjoying Fallout 3. I've been exploring the main ruins of DC and it is great. You really do get the sense that you are exploring a ruined and abandoned city, but with an ever present threat around every corner and in every building.

I jumped when I was attacked the other night. I was exploring along one side of the river and had just killed a couple of raiders that had been lying in wait, when suddenly some intense gun fire hit me from across the river. I quickly ducked down behind some old tires for cover and stuck my head up and activated VATS to see what was attacking me, and two big ugly super mutants were standing on the other side of the water with mini guns. It took some time to bring them both down though as I only had hand guns and rifles at that point (hadn't obtained/discovered any lasers or rockets yet), so I had to just pop up, take some shots using VATS, then duck and wait to fire again. A great tactic against super mutants is to aim for their main weapon. Destroy that and they become defenseless at long range and can be killed easily. However even if you get rid of their main weapon at close range they usually still have a nail board to hand that hurts!

And talking about super mutants some more, but without ruining the location, I encountered the Brotherhood of Steel and was tagging along with them when the boss super mutant attacked us. He killed one of the Brotherhood, so naturally I searched the dead BoS Soldier for anything useful and they were carrying a Fat Man! :D That is such a cool weapon. It took this boss super mutant out with a single shot. :nogood:

I've also really enjoyed going into some of the big buildings so far. They are normally occupied by raiders so it is great sneaking around inside picking them off one by one. You can come unstick sometimes though by taking a wrong route through a building and letting too many of the raiders hear you, with them all converging on your position at once. Not much chance at survival when that happens. Best to reload a point further back in the building and try and alternative route.

Venturing down into the underground Metro is also really great. The Ghouls and dark tunnels reminded me a lot of HL2 and exploring the tunnels allows you to find loads of stuff and also different exits to the Metro to allow you quite passage to further areas of the map.

Oh, and activating security robots is fun too. Seeing them go off on their merry way shooting any raiders they find with a laser. :D Always feels a little sad when they eventually get blown up though.

[Demon Cleaner]

That sounds like a lot of fun. I got my copy 2 days ago, but I'm currently playing Dead Space. I'm now at chapter 7 of 12. Sometimes I was so shocked and scared that I almost fell off the couch :) Playing it in the dark with my 5.1 BOSE system makes tremble the walls and of course me too. Too bad I didn't get my dualshock controller yet. I ordered it together with Dead Space and Fallout 3, but it didn't come with it.

[Harrison]

As you have been getting into FPS style games recently, plus you love RPGs I think you are going to really enjoy Fallout 3 when you finally get around to playing it.

The key to enjoying the game the most is to explore. Don't try to complete all of the early missions straight away. Instead explore a bit into the city and have some fun discovering new locations and meeting people. Then start to do some of the side quests. Also don't follow the main quests too much until you are ready to complete the game, because if you complete the main quest the game ends. I'm avoiding the main quest mostly at the moment and exploring and doing side quests mostly to see as much of the wasteland as I can. And looking at the map you posted I've so far discovered only a small proportion of the locations in the game. Really looking forward to finding more. :)

Regarding Dead Space. I've just installed that but not played it yet. Looking forward to trying it out. :)

[Demon Cleaner]

Difficult to say what I'm going to play next, I still have to play:

- Lost Planet
- Crackdown
- GTA IV
- Assassin's Creed
- Halo 3
- Lost Odyssey
- Folklore
- Gears of War
- Gears of War 2
- Mirror's Edge (will probably get it next week)
- Metal Gear Solid 4
- Eternal Sonata
- Blue Dragon
- Enchanted Arms
- Bioshock
- Fable II
- Dead Rising
- Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction
- Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

...and of course Fallout 3.

And I still have to finish Mass Effect, Burnout Paradise City and Mercenaries 2. How you probably can imagine, I still have a lot of stuff to play, I need some free time, damn work :dry:

(Wish I could take my consoles to work ;))

[Harrison]

Some really great games in that list so I can imagine it will be very hard to choose what to play next.

But out of them I would highly recommend Bioshock before Fallout 3 as it has an amazing story and is better scripted than probably any other game to date. Well worth playing, and the environment it's set in looks amazing and is great to explore. The game also creates suspense and apprehension with some brilliant set pieces and characters.

BTW, noticed FarCry 2 isn't on the list yet ;)

[Demon Cleaner]

I didn't want to buy Far Cry 2 yet because there are other great FPS coming out like CoD5 and Resistance 2. Far Cry 2 has got some good reviews, but not as good as many others. I'm probably not gonna buy it, as I still have a lot to do, and I'm sure there are some other great games coming out now for Christmas time.

Some great RPGs are also soon getting released, like The Last Remnant, White Knight Chronicles, Persona 4, Star Ocean: The Last Hope...

[Harrison]

The only solution is to somehow create a room where time runs slower. So we can use it to play games for days, but the world outside isn't moving. That way we can play everything released and still have time to go to work! :lol:

[Demon Cleaner]

I now got my copy of the Fallout 3 Collector's Edition Guide and it just looks gorgeous. If I take a closer look at it, I can imagine that you can play around a long time with the game, the guide itself contains 496 pages.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y184/cioprgr/classicamiga/41YaEoFp5xL_SS500_.jpg

[Harrison]

Very nice. I always try to resist buying such guides until I'm played a game a lot first, otherwise it is so tempting to read things in the book before you have seen or discovered them in the actual game, and that can really ruin some nice (or bad) surprises in a game's story/plot or environment. And I think that is very much the case in Fallout 3 where you discover something new in every area you visit that is different.

[v85rawdeal]

I also find out to be one of the most atmospherically tense games at the moment. Not knowing if that red blip over the next hill is a mangy mutt or a bounty hunter coming to collect!!!

[J T]

Difficult to say what I'm going to play next, I still have to play:

- Lost Planet
- Crackdown
- GTA IV
- Assassin's Creed
- Halo 3
- Lost Odyssey
- Folklore
- Gears of War
- Gears of War 2
- Mirror's Edge (will probably get it next week)
- Metal Gear Solid 4
- Eternal Sonata
- Blue Dragon
- Enchanted Arms
- Bioshock
- Fable II
- Dead Rising
- Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction
- Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

...and of course Fallout 3.


Crackdown is ace, it's a lot of fun. I really enjoyed it. Shame about a few niggles and glitches here and there - but I really do rate this game very highly.

[Demon Cleaner]

Now I also got Resistance 2. Difficult to say which one I'm gonna play first :hmmm: I played Crackdown for a couple of hours and I quite enjoyed it, but I think I have other games that are far better.

[Harrison]

Fallout 3. You've got to play Fallout 3! ;)

[Demon Cleaner]

Fallout 3. You've got to play Fallout 3! ;)I know, I know, but as I still have so many games to play, I'd prefer one which I could finish faster. If I begin with Fallout, I'm gone for 100 hours.

[Teho]

That's true. I think I've spent at least that with it since it was released and I'm still not done with. And I've also recently bought Resistance 2, LittleBigPlanet, Mirror's Edge and Far Cry 2, But haven't looked at any of them yet. And that's just recently, I have a ton of more stuff I'd like to have a look at lying around. Some things are over a year old now. *sigh*

Fallout 3 is allright though. :)

[Demon Cleaner]

I started with Resistance 2 yesterday, saw that you were online and playing Fallout Teho ;)

[Harrison]

I expect Far Cry 2 will take nearly as much time as Fallout 3. It's not linear like the first one and there is a huge map to explore with loads of people to meet, missions to complete etc... I only played it for a few hours when I got it and that already opened up a load of opportunities for many different directions and tasks.

Sometimes I do think games can be a little bit too open. I like the first Far Cry because, while it was was level/area based, it was an evolving story. With more open non-linear games you can easily complete a game's main quest/mission, but never see 70% of the game or a lot of the sights, people, events, missions, quests, items, weapons etc... You could argue that it just requires the played to explore and use their own motivation to discover as much as possible, but sometimes you just want to be led though a story and enjoy it. That's one reason I'm enjoying Dead Space.

[Demon Cleaner]

Far Cry 2 seems to get very tedious later in the game, due to this open world feature. I really don't need open worlds, I can cope with games that are linear, at least I get the feeling I don't miss anything. Dead Space was linear, but that gave me the feeling not to stray around too much. The way indicator in Dead Space is ace imo, every game should have such a help, which you could disable if wanted.

When I play RPGs I like to do everything, but with an open world, you often finish the main story in 20 hours, whereas you can play for 50 and more hours just doing sidequests. I know that I don't need to do them, but when they are there I just tend to explore everything what is possible, and gather every little item which is in the game, even if it's not useful.

[Harrison]

Which is exactly how it feels in Fallout 3. You can quite quickly start following the main quest and before you know it you are quite some way into the main story. The danger with Fallout 3 is that once the main quest is over the game ends. Therefore since making contact with the Brotherhood of Steel if put the main quest on hold and am instead exploring the wasteland and doing side quests.

[Ghost]

Hello all,

More news on Fallout 3 DLC Operation: Anchorage, planned for next year January.

http://au.xboxlive.ign.com/articles/937/937202p1.html

As usual, I don't care and wish Bethesda burns in hell.

[Demon Cleaner]

As usual, I don't care and wish Bethesda burns in hell.:lol: you're rough man.

[Harrison]

But have you actually even played Fallout 3 yet Ghost? While it will never match your expectations of the series it is still a great game in its own right and without playing it there is just no way of judging it fairly.

[Ghost]

But have you actually even played Fallout 3 yet Ghost? While it will never match your expectations of the series it is still a great game in its own right and without playing it there is just no way of judging it fairly.

That is the current bane in my life; the fact that my new PC keeps eluding me.

I ordered the damn thing before my Birthday, October 23th, and I still don't have the machine due to a series of very sucking events (not going to called unfortunate).

First the delivery guy only brings half the list of ordered components and apparently will take so long over the rest that the guy assembling it has to go to their depot to pick up the rest.

Then the case turns out to be to small for the motherboard, meaning that a replacement will have to be ordered.
Fortunate I do not have to pay for that one.

Its as if the world doesn't want me to try out new PC games.

[Harrison]

How come you didn't build the PC yourself? It's not really that hard. It is a bit scary the first time you attempt it due to worrying about damaging something, but in reality components are much tougher than you initially think, and with some care it is very easy to build a PC from scratch. And is saves a lot of money.

[Ghost]

Hello Harrison,

That may have been better in conclusion, but I would have preferred it to seek out components and assemble a computer with someone else for the first time.

So any of you who will play the DLCs?

[Harrison]

If the DownLoadable Content for the PC version looks good enough then I probably will. Especially if some of it explores the lore of Fallout history as hinted at in the previews.

[Ghost]

Well so far the following DLCs have been announced;

Operation Anchorage: apparently simulation of a possible or proposed war scenario to liberate Anchorage from Chinese occupation forces.

The Pitt: a location mentioned in FO3 but not visited.
A raider town apparently 'cleansed' by the Brotherhood of Steel in the past.

Broken Steel: a sort of expansion taking place after FO3 in which the player can now join the BOS to take on the remnants of the Enclave.

[Demon Cleaner]

And it saves a lot of money.That isn't true anymore, if I look at the prices for PCs nowadays, it's easy to get one which is cheaper if you would build one from scratch. Take a look at One's computers here (http://www.one.de/shop/one-pc-systeme-onesystem-core-2-c-128_202.html), they're not expensive at all.

[Harrison]

Yes, you can buy what look like good spec pre-built PCs these days for about the same money as you could build them yourself. However the majority of the time they have cut corners. Often the motherboards are limited in some way, or other things like the ram, PSU, case or HDD are a budget make. They have to make a profit somewhere within the PC they are selling.

I still prefer to build a PC myself as I then know all of the components are qualiity known brands and also that the system has been put together correctly and how I wish.

[Demon Cleaner]

That's true, I also still buy my components and build them in, but if some guy who uses Word and Paint and asks me if I could build him a good PC, I advise him to buy one in the discounter around the corner.

And which mobo is really a bad mobo?? You could easily change that one with a new one.

I have to admit that their cases often look very ugly, and are not meant to upgrade your machine with several disks f.ex.

[Harrison]

There are bad motherboards from many of the manufacturers. It's not just one or two makes. Some of the budget makes like ASRock actually make pretty good boards. But even a good cheap motherboard is going to be at least £40 so you would still be throwing away more money on one of these pre-built systems to improve it by replacing the motherboard.

Many of the budget pre-built systems use special OEM versions of motherboards specifically for the pre-built market. These often have things removed to reduce cost. Integrated graphics and the AGP/PCI-E slot removed, reduced number of SATA/PATA ports, less PCI slots, lower FSB, less ram slots, reduced features in te BIOS... the list can go on.

Companies that often do this are the big ones like Dell, Compaq/HP, Medion etc... Smaller companies that make proper powerful PCs are normally less guilty of this practice and actually do put the motherboards and parts in their systems that are the same as consumer versions.

[Demon Cleaner]

Played Fallout 3 now for 3-4 hours, and honestly I found it a bit boring. Perhaps it's only in the beginning in the first hours, but most of the time I spend with conversations with other characters rather than have any fights.

Fighting also acts weird, if not using the V.A.T.S. system, and also with that, I had my concerns. Why not full turn based or full real time, why can you only use the V.A.T.S. system when you have enough AP?

And right at the moment I have 5 quests to do and don't even know how that happened and what I'm supposed to do next.

And why the heck do my weapons wear off?? I can easily understand when hitting some guys with a bat, that it will break sooner or later, but a gun? Come on, just imagine in the real world you had guns that don't work anymore after firing 30 shots.

So until now I'm a bit disappointed, but that will hopefully change when I get further into the game. Let's hope so :(

[Harrison]

There are quite a few older RPGs that use similar systems. A few on the original Playstation first used weapon degradation and repair, and some more recent ones have too, plus some of the current MMOs do this too.

The idea really is to force you not to rely and use just one single weapon throughout the whole game. And it does work because you could be in the middle of a fight against a large group of raiders and suddenly find your favourite weapon breaks, so you then have to switch to another and change your tactics slightly. I does add to the game play in combat and makes you think instead if just relying on one weapon and blasting everything easily.

Oblivion also used this system, and I suppose it made more sense when you are using hand to hand melee weapons at close range because armour and swords will degenerate during physical combat. However firearms do degrade in real life. They also overheat if you fire a machine gun for too long in a single burst for example, or a shotgun barrel can become damaged if it isn't cleaned often enough because the residue left in the barrel will start to pit and scratch the bore threading when you fire additional shots.

The VATS system is also similar to those used in a few others games too. Some RPGs like Dungeon Siege for example let you pause the action, select your next series of actions, and then unpause to play them out. And others do have count down timers or points systems to only allow you to use the system a set number of times before needed to wait for it to regenerate.

In Fallout 3 I think this works quite well. In a big fight you can enter VATS to give yourself a slight tactical advantage and some nice head shots, but if the game allowed you to use just the VATS system all of the time it wouldn't convey the true energy and addrenaline of the fight. Only being able to queue up a few shots before knowing you will then have to duck for cover, move to a more secure location, or fight in real time really adds to the experience of the combat. Well, it does for me anyway.

Obviously if you are a fan of just stratigic tuen based RPGs then it is all a bit of a shock having to suddenly fight in real time. No time to consider your moves and think things through in the same way. And while I like both styles of combat, I remember not liking or getting on with the real-time combat system of FFXII to begin with as I love the older turn based combat system in FF games.

As for the game being a bit boring. I agree that the beginning can be a bit tedious if the first thing you do is visit Metaton and then take on some of the quests you get in there. Some quests are automatically added just by talking to people, and there is the main quest which will keep adding more parts as you complete or discover things about it as you play.

To get some excitement I recommend you venture straight into the main city. You will soon encounter to raider snipers that the VATS system will be very useful against, and you will come up against a load of Super mutants to fight. There are also loads of places to visit and explore in the city, as well as buildings to enter.

The super duper mart on the edge of the city which is given to you as a quest from one of the inhabitants of Megaton is worth a visit as you get to fight a whole gang of raiders in there, and you can fire up a security bot to help you in the fight. Another place that is quite fun to visit early on is the school right near the vault. It has loads of raiders too, and lots of places to explore.

And the subway in the main city is quite good to explore. Loads of baddies to fight and things to find down there. It also gets you to many locations within the city much faster, or sometimes the only way when rubble blocks your progress above.

And if you want to do a few more things then try to locate and seek out many of the other vaults scattered around the fallout 3 world. Each contains different things to discover, puzzles to solve, or people to meet.

And there are loads of different places to discover. Different settlements and camps.

Finally if you want to find out something about the game I recommend you have a look at the Fallout 3 wiki. http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Fallout_Wiki

Or a two different nice interactive map at http://www.nma-fallout.com/content.php?page=fo3-maps-interactive and http://planetfallout.gamespy.com/maps/1/Capital-Wasteland The second map is quite cool, using google map technology.

[Demon Cleaner]

I played for 7 hours now and still there's no real fun coming up :( Travelling through the Wasteland is just boring, why don't I get a car in the beginning?

However the V.A.T.S. system turned out to be nicer than I thought, but on the other side, when you can't use it, aiming and shooting is just painful. And using the V.A.T.S. system all the time, which is crucial, also gets boring, how many heads have I already seen be blown of, come on, let me play, no need to replay slow motion over and over again (or can you skip that??).

And then there's the problem with the side quests. I cannot disarm the bomb because my explosion skill is not high enough. I cannot repair something because my repairing skills are not high enough. I simply can't do nothing at the moment.

Then I begin one quest, the Lucy's letter f.ex. and I have to go from place to place to talk with people, and if I encounter a fight, they're so tough, that I'm instantly dead. So I pick up another quest and now have several unfinished quests, which I don't like, I want to have my job/work done!

Then I thought, let's explore the Wasteland, which in the beginning is fun, but after a couple of minutes I thought, man, this one is a waste land. If there are some creatures, whether they are blown away easily, or they are just a pain in the ass, like the mutants with their big guns or flame throwers, or the ones I met coming out of the water, gladly I could run away from them.

I think the whole criple system is also needless and tedious. The idea might be good, but the conversion is more annoying than funny.

Although the Pipboy is a great idea, I sometimes find it confusing, as I have to browse several times to find what I need, it looks nice, but again, it's not very helpful.

I also have problems spotting enemies, I often get shot at, then look around who's shooting at me, and when I finally manage to see him, half of my health is already lost. I can just imagine how it is when you encounter hordes of enemies.

Sometimes I just run around and feel lost, don't know what to do next and sacrify a lot of time doing absolutely nothing.

I don't know if I'm gonna give it another last chance, to see if it finally gets better, or if I just play another game and sell it. Sadly I bought the special edition of the guide, which was a waste of money if I don't play it.

Last word: I don't want to say that this game is bad, not at all, otherwise a lot of people out there would be wrong, but I guess it's just simply not made for ME.

[Harrison]

I played for 7 hours now and still there's no real fun coming up :( Travelling through the Wasteland is just boring, why don't I get a car in the beginning?

Yes, that is a downside to begin with, but once you have locations marked on your map you can then instantly jump to any location without needed to manually travel there. Once you can do this it makes the game much nicer because you can cut out a large chunk of time wasted for quests.


However the V.A.T.S. system turned out to be nicer than I thought, but on the other side, when you can't use it, aiming and shooting is just painful. And using the V.A.T.S. system all the time, which is crucial, also gets boring, how many heads have I already seen be blown of, come on, let me play, no need to replay slow motion over and over again (or can you skip that??).

That is true. The slow motion replays every time can get a bit annoying, and the VATS system isn't actually as accurate at long range compared to manually aiming and firing. Specially if you have a gun with a scope. Close up though the VATS system is definitely needed. Just need to keep picking skills and putting more points into giving you more uses of VATS each time you level up.


And then there's the problem with the side quests. I cannot disarm the bomb because my explosion skill is not high enough. I cannot repair something because my repairing skills are not high enough. I simply can't do nothing at the moment.

The reason for this is so you don't wipe out a large number of quests and useful locations early on in the game. If you could detonate the bomb and wipe out the town at the beginning then you would definitely be without much to do early on in the game. Skill restrictions is really a way to introduce a learning curve and difficulty level into the game. It is annoying sometimes though I have to agree.




I don't mind lots of queued up quests. Many RPGs are like this. And all MMOs are definitely like this. The advantage of having lots of quests on the go is that you always have something to do. And when in an area there might be some unfinished quests near you to continue. I think that is quite good as it stops the game getting boring.

[quote]Then I thought, let's explore the Wasteland, which in the beginning is fun, but after a couple of minutes I thought, man, this one is a waste land. If there are some creatures, whether they are blown away easily, or they are just a pain in the ass, like the mutants with their big guns or flame throwers, or the ones I met coming out of the water, gladly I could run away from them.

:lol: The super mutants are quite tough to begin with, but after a bit of leveling up and a good arsnal of weapons it gets easier and more fun. I've managed to take on 6 super mutants within the capital and kill them all. It just takes some tactics, finding ways to split them up and then work out the best way to disable them. I find shooting their weapons is a good tactic because it quickly degrades it and they are then defenseless other than a bat they are often carrying, so running backwards so they can't engage you in melee combat is a good move.

And the limited uses of the VATS system is actually there for a reason when you think of fights like this. If you could engage loads of powerful enemies, activate the VATS system, and then stay in it queuing up actions, it would make fights too easy. The fact you can gain a small initial advantage with the VATS system at the start of a fight is what the VATS system is all about, then you have to think on your feet and fight for real. It adds to the sense of danger and panic, which you would feel in a real life combat situation.

But as I mentioned before, if you prefer srpg and turn based combat then FPS style real time combat isn't going to be fun. For me, taking on a few super mutants feels like playing Quake 2 again. It's great fun! :)


Although the Pipboy is a great idea, I sometimes find it confusing, as I have to browse several times to find what I need, it looks nice, but again, it's not very helpful.

Many people had said the same thing about the Pipboy and I have to agree. It is fiddly to navigate and find the right page of information that you need. Ane the map isn't accurate or clear enough to navigate locations within quests. I've often got stuck trying to locate a destination and have been travelling parallel to where I should be. However this might be part of the design because I think you would be a bit disprientated in the wasteland. The first time I tried to navigate the main city I kept getting lost or reaching dead ends and blocked routes. But that was because the game was designed to force you to navigate though the metro system to bypass the blocked areas.


I also have problems spotting enemies, I often get shot at, then look around who's shooting at me, and when I finally manage to see him, half of my health is already lost. I can just imagine how it is when you encounter hordes of enemies.

Being a fan of FPS games and WWII games especially, with Return to Castle Wolfenstein being my all time favourite, this is something that is very common in such games. In real life you wouldn't be able to easily locate a sniper or entrenched enemy, and I think the game does this really well. Walking between some building and bullets suddenly coming at you from some unknown location is great. It makes you jumps and run for cover, just like real life. :lol:

It is however fairly easy to locate the hidden enemies. Just activate the VATS system and skip though the possible targets. The hidden enemy will soon be highlights as a target and their location given away. :)


Sometimes I just run around and feel lost, don't know what to do next and sacrify a lot of time doing absolutely nothing.

I had a few moments like that early in the game. I think if you just go out into the wasteland to explore, without a quest or goal then this can easily happen in the game. However I di this after playing for a couple of hours, and decided to explore the main city and had great fun running from Super Mutants, shooting raiders, finding underground metro entrances, collecting loads of weapons and getting lots of locations logged on my map.


I don't know if I'm gonna give it another last chance, to see if it finally gets better, or if I just play another game and sell it. Sadly I bought the special edition of the guide, which was a waste of money if I don't play it.

I suppose it all depends if you like the style pf gameplay Fallout 3 is offering. It is definitely for fans of First Person Shooters and RPGs, rather than one or the other. And I don't think anyone who doesn't play FPSers will enjoy it if they prefer turn based combat and time for stategy.

Personally, from about an hour into the game, when I went into the school and had loads of fights with raiders inside I knew I was going to like the game.

[Demon Cleaner]

I suppose it all depends if you like the style pf gameplay Fallout 3 is offering. It is definitely for fans of First Person Shooters and RPGs, rather than one or the other. And I don't think anyone who doesn't play FPSers will enjoy it if they prefer turn based combat and time for stategy.That is the problem which I can't understand. I love RPGs and lately I also like FPS a lot, but the combination of both doesn't seem to fit my expectations.


Personally, from about an hour into the game, when I went into the school and had loads of fights with raiders inside I knew I was going to like the game.I also did the school part and killed the raiders, which was quite fun, although they act like 5 year old children, running directly into my crossfire.

Then I got the keys, went into the basement and killed all the giant ants, but after every single ant was killed, there just happened nothing, there's no other way out of the tunnel system, so I just went back and out of the school. Does this belong to any of the side quests?

[Puni/Void]

I also did the school part and killed the raiders, which was quite fun, although they act like 5 year old children, running directly into my crossfire.

Then I got the keys, went into the basement and killed all the giant ants, but after every single ant was killed, there just happened nothing, there's no other way out of the tunnel system, so I just went back and out of the school. Does this belong to any of the side quests?

Hi there Demon,

Sadly I don't think it belongs to a quest at all. The tunnel is basically a dead-end, and there is, as far as I know, no way to blast your way through. :(

[Harrison]

I was also a bit confused by the tunnels I have to admit. I know the whole point of the tunnels was because the raiders were trying to get into Vault 101, and there are some items to collect down there, but I was expecting something special once you have managed to clear the area. Instead nothing. I even tried to blast the dead end corridor with a nuke but all that did was kill me! :lol: The only thing I wonder is that there is that high up ledge at the end of the tunnels near the final giant ant nest and you can't get up into the tunnel above. Maybe there is a way up there and something else to find? Not sure though.

[Puni/Void]

I was also a bit confused by the tunnels I have to admit. I know the whole point of the tunnels was because the raiders were trying to get into Vault 101, and there are some items to collect down there, but I was expecting something special once you have managed to clear the area. Instead nothing. I even tried to blast the dead end corridor with a nuke but all that did was kill me! :lol: The only thing I wonder is that there is that high up ledge at the end of the tunnels near the final giant ant nest and you can't get up into the tunnel above. Maybe there is a way up there and something else to find? Not sure though.

I was quite confused myself. Spent a lot of time searching every inch of that tunnel, but to no avail. Due to all the clues and hints, I was absolutely sure it was something down there.

Haven't managed to get up on that ledge either, but I don't think there's anything there. You can cheat though, by turning off collision-detection via the command console, just to be sure.

I've enjoyed playing Fallout 3. A positive surprise. I know I was a bit negative earlier, but if one sees the game isolated from its predecessors, it's quite cool. :cool:

For those who haven't completed the game yet, a word of advice; Wait with the main quest! Try exploring around first, build up your character and do some of the side-quests. Once you've finished the main quest, it is game over.

[Harrison]

I've still not completed the main quest because I heard that is was game over once complete, so I've only advanced the main quest as far as repairing the broadcast sat dish, and I'm not taking it any further until I've explored all of the wasteland and visited all of the other Vaults, towns and locations I can find.

[Ghost]

Hello Harrison,

Don't expect much from the other Vaults, you will find some extra stuff including a weapon with a name I think but they have no impact on the storyline.

Also, I have given the DLC a try (had nothing else to do).
I advice everyone to wait until its price is lowered as it isn't worth ten euros.

Basically Operation Anchorage is a very linear shooter sub campaign.
You start this campaign by responding to an Outcast distress signal, after you have helped them defeat some Super Mutants they ask you to run a simulation of the Anchorage Reclamation campaign in order to open a weapons storage room.

What follows is basically a series of linear levels in which you have to perform a number of tasks.
While later you can choose which task to perform first and assemble a team of NPCs, it isn't exactly that much different from the first part of the game.

Also, you can finish this within one and a half hour, its not several hours big as the developers claimed it to be.

[Harrison]

A couple of the Vaults have been interesting. Especially the "Garys" one.

[PubZombie]

i love this game. I stopped doing the main quest chain after about 40 hrs gameplay and have just been exploring the wastelands for the last 40hrs. The Dunwhich building is brilliantly done and will be enjoyed by those HP Lovecraft fans out there. I purchased the collectors guide to this game - its awesome and enhances the experience of play tenfold. Its over 600 pages lol

[Teho]

The only thing I wonder is that there is that high up ledge at the end of the tunnels near the final giant ant nest and you can't get up into the tunnel above. Maybe there is a way up there and something else to find? Not sure though.

There isn't. I was also disappointed with those tunnels, thinking there had to be more to them. So I carried/pushed/threw an empty barrel all the way down there (easier said than done), and after about fifty tries managed to place it in such a way that I could balance on it and jump up there. Took a lot of time to succeed, and when I was finally up there was absolutely nothing to see. Not so much as a bent can. It just dead ends a couple of meters further down. That was an annoying waste of time.

[Demon Cleaner]

I saw that the DLC did not get very good reviews. I'm sure I'm not gonna d/l it. Still don't know if I continue with the game, or just put it away. Or perhaps I'm only finishing the main quest and no sidequest at all. Don't really know, I have so many games still to play, and I want to play something I can enjoy, instead fo playing a game for hours hoping for it to get better. It feels like wasting my time in Wasteland :)

[Harrison]

If you don't want to waste hours exploring the empty wasteland, then use your guide to get to the large towns and settlements. You should have some fun then. Especially the ones located more in the top left of the map.

[Demon Cleaner]

Yeah, perhaps I'll try that, if I can reach the towns without being killed by too tough enemies.

[Puni/Void]

Yeah, perhaps I'll try that, if I can reach the towns without being killed by too tough enemies.

If you spend a bit of time building up your character, I don't think you'll have any problems reaching those locations. Be sure to put some extra points in small guns, as this is very important for survival.

Do also remember that you're allowed to run for it if the opponents are too tough. ;) Instead you can return on a later date to teach them a lesson.

There are lots of cool stuff to discover in Fallout 3, so you've a lot to look forward to. I won't mention many of the interesting quests or locations here in case I'll spoil the fun.

[Harrison]

Also worth remembering is that unlike Oblivion the enemies don't keep leveling up parallel to you characters current level. Instead the game sets an enemy's level to match your current level when you fist encounter them (so fights are not too easy), but it then fixes those enemies levels based on that initial encounter. So if you come back and fight them again later they will still be the same, regardless of how much more you have built your character up, so the fights will then be easier. Makes the game much fairer than Oblivion was.


There are lots of cool stuff to discover in Fallout 3, so you've a lot to look forward to. I won't mention many of the interesting quests or locations here in case I'll spoil the fun.

Very true, and I think many people are missing most of it because they just plow through the main quest and once complete mark the game as finished and move on. So much of the main map isn't used for the main quest, so loads of locations and events are never seen unless you explore and experiment.

[Demon Cleaner]

9 hours into the game so far, I visited some metro stations and explored the Wasteland, but my opinion about the game still stands :(

[Harrison]

Have you heading North West from Vault 101?

A quick stop is Vault 106, which is just past the flyover and located in the next set of rocks. But if you keep going in that direction you will start to discover some more interesting stuff such as a city made out of an air craft carrier.

[Demon Cleaner]

Have you heading North West from Vault 101?

A quick stop is Vault 106, which is just past the flyover and located in the next set of rocks. But if you keep going in that direction you will start to discover some more interesting stuff such as a city made out of an air craft carrier.No, yesterday I just went north straight up through the middle and discovered nothing at all. Oh well yes, I came to a "city" in ruins and was attacked by a Deathclaw which beat the shit out of me :dry:

[Ghost]

I think you came across Old Olney, its a place infested with respawning Deathclaws.

Flamethrowers or Gatling Lasers are pretty effective against them.

[Demon Cleaner]

I think you came across Old Olney, its a place infested with respawning Deathclaws.

Flamethrowers or Gatling Lasers are pretty effective against them.Great, but I'm only level 3 and don't have anything besides some "water guns".

[Harrison]

I've only been playing for about 20 hours and already have a nice arsenal of weapons including the Fat Man, which fires nukes! ;) Great weapon, but ammo is naturally hard to find. :lol: Although the shotgun and Chinese rifles are two of my favourite weapons.

I got most of the weapons by exploring a lot of the main city buildings and underground system.

[Ghost]

Odd, I dislike this game and yet I have already reached level 20 and finished the game.

[Harrison]

Is there a level cap in the game? I'm only level 8 at the moment. I've not been leveling up that quickly because I've been exploring more than completing missions at the moment.

[Puni/Void]

Is there a level cap in the game? I'm only level 8 at the moment. I've not been leveling up that quickly because I've been exploring more than completing missions at the moment.

There sure is. The level cap in Fallout 3 is 20. The upcoming Broken Steel expansion pack will raise it to 30.

[Harrison]

Do we know how the Broken Steel expansion pack will expand the game yet?

Will it expand the map? Would be great to have a different major city to explore. New York would be brilliant. Imagine exploring through the sky scrappers and avoiding snippers entrenched in adjacent towers.

[Demon Cleaner]

The chinese rifles are good?? I always sold them until now and only kept the hunter and assault rifles.

[Puni/Void]

The chinese rifles are good?? I always sold them until now and only kept the hunter and assault rifles.

The Chinese Assault Rifle packs a bit more punch than the normal one. On the other hand, the American Assault Rifle is more common. This makes it easier to do field repairs.

Have you tried the scoped .44 Magnum or the Combat Shotgun yet? Both are excellent alternatives. First one is great for both long- and short range, while the latter is most powerful in close combat.

Have any of you built the Dart Gun yet? :D